Laura Swift is partner at Quad-Cities Investment Group and 2014 Athena Award honoree.

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Pat Eikenberry is president and CEO at Missman Inc. and its holding company, The Missman Group.

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Bill Leaver is CEO and president UnityPoint Health and Athena Male Champion of Change Award

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Four women with a wide range of community involvement have been selected as 2014 Athena Awards honorees.

The Quad-Cities Chamber of Commerce and Women’s Connection also said Thursday that two recipients have been selected for the first-ever Male Champion of Change Award.

The Athena honorees are Mary Ellen Chamberlin, president of the Riverboat Development Authority; Teri Johnson, founder of Jason’s Box and the military affairs liaison at UnityPoint Health-Trinity; Meg Schebler, athletic director at Ashford University in Clinton; and Laura Swift, partner at Quad-Cities Investment Group.

The awards luncheon will be at noon March 26 at Jumer’s Casino & Hotel, Rock Island. The awards are presented by Missman Inc.

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New this year is the Male Champion of Change Award, which will honor men with exceptional commitment to the acceleration of women in leadership who utilize their influence, talents and abilities to enhance gender diversity.

Recipients of the first-time award are Pat Eikenberry, president and CEO of Missman Inc., and Bill Leaver, president and CEO of UnityPoint Health. They also will be honored at the luncheon.

“Gender diversity and the inclusion of more women in leadership isn’t just good for women, it’s good for business,” said Colleen Rafferty, co-executive director of Women’s Connection.

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Mary Ellen Chamberlin, president of Riverboat Development Authority, is a 2014 Athena Award honoree.

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Teri Johnson is founder of Jason's Box and military affairs liaison UnityPoint Health-Trinity

Laura Swift is partner at Quad-Cities Investment Group and 2014 Athena Award honoree.

Contributed photo

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Pat Eikenberry is president and CEO at Missman Inc. and its holding company, The Missman Group.

Contributed photo

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Bill Leaver is CEO and president UnityPoint Health and Athena Male Champion of Change Award

Contributed photo

ATHENA HONOREES

Here is a look at the 2014 Athena Award honorees:

Mary Ellen Chamberlin has been president of the Riverboat Development Authority since its inception in 1989. She has overseen the distribution of $56 million in gaming funds to non-profit organizations and civic groups.

She has served on a number of boards, including Vision Iowa, Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Commission of the U.S. Justice Department, Scott County Welfare Board, Scott County Riverfront Council, Davenport DARE and RiverVision steering committee. She serves on the Davenport Civil Service Commission, Downtown Partnership and Regional Opportunity Council of the Quad-Cities Chamber of Commerce.

She resides in Davenport with her husband, Lynne. They have two daughters.

When Teri Johnson's son, Cpl. Jason Pautsch, was killed in Iraq in 2009, she vowed to turn her grief into passion to honor his fellow service members. She created her own foundation, Jason’s Box, Inc., which honors and assists service members while deployed and after they return from war.

Since 2009, Jason’s Box has grown to include a board of directors and a network of community volunteers and partners dedicated to improving the health and well-being of military men and women.

Selected in 2013 as UnityPoint Health-Trinity’s first military affairs liaison, Johnson formerly was coordinator of Advancement and Community Outreach at Trinity College of Nursing & Health Sciences.

Her memberships include the Quad-Cities Chamber Military Affairs Council, Gold Star Advisory Council for Army Community Service and Behavioral Health Working Group of Illinois Joining Forces.

She lives in Moline and has five children, ages 17-28.

Meg Schebler joined Ashford University (then Mount St. Clare College) in 1998 as athletics director, and has served the institution as a coach, administrator and adjunct faculty member.

Under her leadership, the university implemented academic support services for athletes. In 2013, all 15 intercollegiate athletic teams were recognized with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Scholar Team Award.

She serves a number of boards in the Clinton community, including Big Brothers/Big Sisters, YWCA, Relay for Life and Clinton Half Marathon.

She resides in Davenport.

Laura Swift, a former vice president of Piper Jaffray and UBS, became a partner in Quad-Cities Investment Group, LLC in 2009.

She has consistently been honored for her leadership and business acumen. She was one of 10 people interviewed for the Options Industry Council’s 2013 whitepaper “Tales from the Front: How Advisors Successfully Use Options in Their Practice,” and she was invited to participate in the 2013 Barron’s Top Women Advisors Summit.

Her philanthropic endeavors include the Community Foundation’s Power of the Purse event and organizing the region’s first women’s giving circle, which funds vital programs for non-profit organizations.

Her other board memberships include YogaG and Davenport Rotary.

She and her husband, Shane, live in Bettendorf, and they have two sons.